courtesy Booktopia
David Hunt’s history of Australia Girt is the funniest book I have read in a long while. In a similar vein to the writings of Bill Bryson Hunt takes the historical truth and writes it in a way that makes you laugh out loud. This is the first book in a very long while that I could not help but read passages out loud to my husband who has decided that he too will now read the book. His style, wit and language make this book a joy to read.
The book starts with the discovery of Australian and why most of those who are credited with first discovering it did not at all and at the fascination of the Dutch for nailing kitchen plates to posts. He finishes with Governor Macquarie in the early 1800s. Thankfully a seccond book has been written that will take us further along in history.
Hunt describes the book as revealing Australia’s past – “from Megafauna to Macquarie — the cock-ups and the curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are.” I totally agree with this description.
Throughout the book he offers footnotes which are explanatory asides. For example in a section talking of our founding felons he mentioned that having asked for breeding women he was given a 70 year old cheese thief called Elizabeth Beckford. At this point a footnote was attached and it read ” Many first fleet convicts stole food to ward off starvation. William Edmunds was transported for stealing a cow, while Thomas Eccles was exiled for filching bacon and two loaves of bread. If Elizabeth Beckford had joined forces with these criminal masterminds, the cheese and bacon burger would have been invented 140 years earlier.” (p103)
Being an Australian I knew the history that was contained within the pages and I don’t know whether it would lose the deeper meanings for those reading who did not have both that knowledge and a knowledge of current Australia, but I think the humour, typically Australian, would be universal. Although at times Hunt is not politically correct he is at no time being nasty and he leaves no-one untouched with his tongue in cheek humour.
I would highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read the sequel True Girt.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Darn.. It wouldn’t take my comment. Let’s see if this works…
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Hi Judy. Hope you are okay with the earthquake that hit Mexico. Thinking of you and hope you are safe.
I hate it when that happens and it is not that infrequent.
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Thanks, Irene.. and don’t mean to be insulting about the book. Different narrators appeal to different people..I did enjoy the content, but even the sound they chose to signal footnotes made me cringe–the sound of a whip to remind us of all the floggings??? I am getting increasingly sensitive to violence in my “nether” years–ha.
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Yes the floggings would have driven me mad too. I don’t take it personally. I have long learnt that we have different likes and dislikes when it comes to reading (and in this case listening) that I value other opinions but do not find it takes away from what I thought. In this case though with the audio we are on the same wave length.
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Good. I had actually thought I was making that comment about the narrator to Marilyn, not you. After I hit the send button and saw I’d sent it to you, I was so embarrassed. It felt so ungracious to fire that back at you after you’d recommended the book. But, all’s well that ends well.
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Oh, now it works when it erased my 6 sentence comment. Good work, WordPress. What I said was that upon reading your recommendation, I rushed right over to Audible to buy the narrated book, but unfortunately, although I love the content of the book as described by you, David Hunt narrates it himself and has the most irritating voice and narrating style! Guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and buy the print version, which I rarely do for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I normally wear out my eyes on the computer giving me an adequate excuse to listen rather than read. I also love double-tasking, i.e. listening to books in the studio, kitchen, while driving or while waiting to fall asleep. At any rate, I trust your judgment and so will order the book forthwith. Thanks.
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That is interesting to read about the audio book. Sounds like he should have got a professional to read it (even me as my reading has enticed my husband to pick it up next.) I loved it and will be interested to hear what you think when you read it. I don’t know how much of the humour might be lost if you don’t have a background for the references made. Hopefully not much.
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I lived in Australia for two years, you know…Go on Audible, find the book and listen to the excerpt and see if you agree with me. I find him intensely irritating.
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I tried the trial and have to say I agree with you. You’ll find reading it a much better option.
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Will definitely see if I can find that one in the library, sounds like a fun read.
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It is a great read. Let me know if you enjoy it. I would imagine the library would be able to source it from a library somewhere (I’m presuming all libraries offer this service as ours does).
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I am enjoying it, Irene. I’ll get back to you!!! Thanks for the recommendation.
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Good.
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I’ve put it on hold and it will come from a different library, as you thought.
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Canada and Australia have similar experiences (pioneering and trying to eventually break away from Mother England). This book sounds like a good read!
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I thoroughly enjoyed it Diane. Funny – neither Australia nor Canada has broken with England despite efforts to become a republic (in Australia at least).
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This sounds like a great book, Irene, and your review caused me to add it to my TBR list. I like the idea of some humor thrown in to a history book. Most of them are deadly with seriousness.
(Now see what you made me do!)
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Haha. Let me know what you think when you reach it on your very long TBR list.
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Have just finished it and loved it, I can’t remember the last book that had me laughing out loud. Now that I’ve handed it on to my husband I hear him chuckling. Having just read some of “The Australians” series it was interesting, to me, to compare the depiction of characters such as Bligh and Macarthur,
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I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did from the sound of it. I haven’t read that series but I have read some other work and it is nice to compare and get a fresh view point.
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